Calls flood 911 centers across Kentucky following earthquake

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - We're tracking down new details today about the earthquake that rocked Kentucky this weekend.

The earthquake's epicenter was located in the Blackey community of Letcher County. Not only have we found video of the quake as it happened, but we're also hearing some of the calls made to 911 from as far away as Laurel County:

Dispatcher: "911"Caller: "Ah, yes ah, I think I just felt an earthquake."

Caller: "My whole house shook, is there been any reports of anything?"Dispatcher: "Yes, mamm, we've had a lot of reports, we don't have any confirmation"Caller: "Of what? I mean…"Dispatcher: "Ah, some kind of an earthquake."

Those kinds of calls flooded 911 centers across Kentucky and beyond following Saturday's 4.3 magnitude earthquake in Letcher County.

"There was shaking reported north of Columbus, Ohio and as far south as Atlanta, Georgia, that's more than 600 miles," said Seth Carpenter, a seismologist at the University of Kentucky.

Carpenter and a team of seismologists continue to track this historic event.

"We are looking at the fourth-largest (earthquake) to be reported instrumentally in Kentucky," he explained.

YouTube video of the alleged quake captured on home surveillance by someone called "JustSomeGuyInTheMtns" surfaced on the web today. We showed that video to Carpenter and after doing some calculations, he said, the video appears to be legit.

"It very well could be. This could be an earthquake recording," he said. "Small shaking then larger, seems very reasonable."

While not considered a major quake, Carpenter says, it's still significant.

"Very significant and certainly significant to the people who felt the shaking."

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